The Bench
by startswithhope
Summary: Modern AU: Emma and Killian meet on New Year's Eve when they find themselves alone, both wanting to use the same bench. Can two lonely people find love? (previously posted to tumblr)


Emma had a New Year's Eve tradition. She'd stuck to it for the last 10 years and this evening would be no different. She pulled her yellow bug into the parking lot by Old Harbor Park and made her way to her bench by the water. Tucked in the bag looped around her wrist was her split of champagne (_no glasses needed_) and her corkscrew. It was only about a 10 minute walk along the path before she would reach her destination and looking at her watch she sighed, still over an hour until midnight. She didn't usually come so early, but her last job went easier than expected and it didn't make sense to go all the way back to her apartment on the other side of the city. Emma was usually a stickler for not altering her routine, as that reduced the possibility of surprises. In her experience, surprises only led to heartache and she had no desire to add any more of that to her already mile long list. But…she didn't want to just sit in her car in the parking lot for another 40 minutes, as even for her that felt ridiculously lame. So, she trudged to her bench, with champagne for one, ready toast in another year of…well…just another year.

Apparently, 2014 wasn't going to go out as Emma had planned. As she approached _her_ bench her stomach sank as she saw that it was already occupied. And by the looks of the person stretched out on their back, hand over their face, they had no intention of leaving any time soon. Stepping a bit closer, she could tell it was a man, not homeless, unless homeless fashion had been upgraded to fine quality leather and crisp black slim fit jeans. The hand draped over his face was adorned with a few silver rings and his other hand hung off the bench, grasping a leather bound flask. Emma stood there, hands on her hip, deciding between kicking the boot that was extended off the edge of the bench or some other manner of waking that would be equally unpleasant. She really didn't like when her routine was altered and this was her bench. Drunk leather guy can find somewhere else to sleep of his too early drunkenness. Hell, it wasn't even midnight yet.

Opting for the boot, Emma made her way over, ready to strike.

"I'm not asleep, lass."

Emma froze. Glancing down, she was now face to face with the bluest eyes she had ever seen in her life. It wasn't just the blue that caused the chill to run down her spine, but the all too familiar look of melancholy she saw reflected in them. Realizing she was outright staring at this point, Emma backed up a step and forced her gaze away and out onto the water.

"Sorry. I thought you were passed out. I was just going to make sure you were okay."

The blue eyed stranger chuckled and stretched his arms over his head. "If kicking me is how you assess my well-being, love, I'd really hate to see what you do when you are cross at me."

Emma would have had a retort at the ready for that, but now that he was sitting up and she got a look at more than his eyes, she realized that she needed to get the hell out of there…and fast. He was by far the most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on and that accent, well…it was like a flashing red light telling her to run, run, run. He was the definition of a _bad_ surprise.

"Are you alright?"

Emma snapped out of her internal freak out long enough to snap back. "I'm fine. I'll find another bench." Emma was reluctant to venture from her spot, but the desire to flee was stronger. She knew there had to be other benches along the path and turned to make her getaway.

"I wouldn't go that way, unless you fancy getting an eyeful of some major PDA from a very horny couple of teenagers. They had the next bench well occupied about 10 minutes ago, and by the looks of things, they were just getting started."

Emma turned to glare at the stranger, who was now smirking at her, those damn eyes sparkling with obvious amusement. Well, two can play at that game. Returning his smirk with an equal one of her own, she made the decision that she would just have to get blue eyes here to move on. This was her bench and she had no intention of letting him ruin what was already a pretty depressing evening already.

"Well, I guess I'll have to call my cop buddies and have them come by. They'll love getting two arrests, one for your open container and for one for, well, whatever those teenagers are up to by now."

The stranger glanced down at his open flask and then back up at Emma. His smirk only grew wider, which, was not the reaction she was expecting.

"And I suppose you were planning to just sit and _watch_ that bottle of champagne then, lass? No intention of opening it with the corkscrew poking out of the bottom of your bag there?"

Groaning inwardly, Emma knew she was well and caught with that one and was begrudgingly impressed with his quit wit and ability to read the situation at hand so astutely. She was feeling defeat creep up and was wrestling with what the hell to do next. She must have stood there silently for too long, as when she looked up she was surprised to see the stranger standing and walking towards her.

"Hey, let's start over, shall we? My name is Killian." He extended his ringed hand towards her and she looked down, feeling as if she was on the precipice of a major life decision. She could turn and walk back to her car and go back to her one room apartment and ring in the New Year on her couch. Or, she could shake his hand and see what happened next. She decided she wanted to stop running.

"Emma. Emma Swan" Grasping his hand in hers, she swore she felt a spark of electricity run straight up her arm. Letting go quickly, she looked up to see if she could catch his expression. She swore she saw him reacting as if he felt something too, but it was too quick for her to know for sure." He stepped back and motioned to the bench.

"After you, milady."

"Seriously? Who talks like that?" Emma rolled her eyes as she sat down, leaving plenty of space for him to sit without them having to be too close.

"Just being a gentleman, Ms. Swan." Killian sat and stretched his long legs out in front of him towards the water.

"Emma. Just call me Emma." She glanced his way and their eyes locked for a brief moment.

"As you wish…Emma." Killian looked back over towards the water and the silence stretched between them. Emma noticed that the melancholy she had first seen in his gaze was starting to creep back in and her curiosity got the better of her.

"So, if you weren't sleeping, what were you doing sprawled out on the bench when I first got here?"

"Just thinking, lass. There's just something about this spot that helps me clear my head."

"Oh, so you come here often?" Emma was shocked to hear that this was his sanctuary, too.

"Yeah, ever since I moved here a few years ago. I've always felt at home near the water and when I found this spot on one of my walks one night, I ended up spending 3 hours here. I don't know why, but it almost feels like there's something magical about this bench. It's hard to explain…"

Is this man really here or is he some figment of her imagination that she conjured up? The way he described her…well…_their_ bench is exactly how she has felt every time she comes here. Despite being alone, it always seemed like she was wrapped in a blanket of comfort and she felt at home.

"I don't believe in magic, but I have to agree, there is definitely something about this place."

Emma was looking out onto the water, but she could feel Killian's eyes on her from his side of the bench. She felt a smile creep up and heard his deep chuckle at their shared moment.

"So, Emma, what is a stunning woman like yourself doing here on _our_ bench on New Year's Eve? You would think that there would be a line of suitors offering to take you out for the evening."

Emma scoffed at that. Stunning? Man, that was a new one. Emma knew she wasn't hard on the eyes, but she was definitely not stunning. Maybe he was drunk after all. Not taking the bait, she decided to turn the tables back on him.

"I could ask you the same thing. With those eyes of yours, you should have been able to find a local barfly to swoon at your feet before midnight."

Not missing a beat, Killian leaned over and whispered, "Not much for the swooning type. I find strong women infinitely more attractive." He didn't stay in her space for long, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "You never answered my question, love."

Emma pulled her legs up to her chest on the bench, hugging her ankles, resting her chin on her knees. "I'm not really in the mood to share my sad life story tonight, Killian. I don't really think you want to hear it anyway."

Killian turned his head to regard Emma, seeing her retreat further inside herself with each passing second. "Perhaps I would."

Emma's gaze didn't waver from the water. She didn't like that part of her wanted to tell him everything and another part was wishing she had followed her first instinct and just run. What was it about this guy?

Killian interrupted her thoughts with a small sigh. "Okay, lass, you win. No sad stories." He glanced down at his watch. "We've got 15 minutes until midnight and I don't want to chase you off before you share your champagne with me."

Emma couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to lighten the mood. She dropped her feet back to the ground and turned a bit to face him.

"I don't remember offering to share?"

"Oh, I know. You were just getting around to it though, I can tell." His cheeky smile effectively wiped away the remaining tension in the air. Emma didn't want to bring things back down, so she decided not to press on why he was here alone as well. She sensed that he had sad stories of his own that just might rival hers. Deciding to just enjoy the time they had left together, Emma reached in to her pocket and pulled out her phone. Opening her browser, she found the link she had saved earlier in the day. After a moment, the sounds of New Year's Eve in Times Square could be heard from the speakers and the live feed filled her screen.

She held it up for Killian to see. "I always like to watch the ball drop. It just doesn't feel like New Year's Eve without it. I figured we could listen to the music while we wait?"

"Brilliant idea, lass." He scooted a bit closer on the bench so he could see the screen on her phone. "Have you ever done the Time Square thing for New Years?"

"No, crowds aren't really my thing. I would probably end up punching someone in the face before the night was over."

Killian playfully nudged her foot with his. "Remind me never to piss you off, love."

Emma nudged back. "Well, you've got 10 more minutes. I wouldn't put it past you."

With a wink and his best attempt at a bow while sitting, Killian replied, "I shall endeavor to be on my best behavior."

Before Emma's brain caught up with her mouth, she found herself getting caught up in the flirtatious air that had settled in between them. "Don't be too good. There's no fun in that."

Emma felt herself blushing and averted her gaze back to the water. She wasn't good at this kind of thing and felt suddenly embarrassed. It had been so long since she had felt any connection at all with a man and she had no idea what she was doing. She flinched a bit when she felt Killian's fingertips brushing against the wrist of her hand that was holding the phone between them. Glancing down, she saw that he was tracing the buttercup tattoo that had peeked out from under her sleeve. Too soon, he pulled his fingers away and Emma let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

He seemed to not have realized he had actually touched her and was now giving her a bashful smile. "Nice ink. Do you have any others?"

Emma's breathy, "No", shocked her ears. Killian definitely noticed her reaction and she swore she saw the blue in his eyes darken a full shade as he kept her locked in his gaze. It felt as though there was a live wire connecting them, pulling them closer to an inevitable edge. Emma felt herself leaning closer at the same time as Killian's knee made contact with her thigh.

"5 minutes to go everyone!"

Ryan Seacrest's booming voice from the speakers caused them both to glance down at her phone, cracking, but not quite breaking the moment they were both caught up in.

Not leaning back, Killian, reached up and brushed a lock of Emma's hair behind her ear. "I suppose we should get that champagne open, love. We wouldn't want to miss the big moment."

Emma had a feeling an even bigger moment was looming between them, but she reluctantly stood up to retrieve her bag from where she had left it behind the bench. When she sat back down on her side she couldn't help but notice that Killian had shifted to the center, effectively reducing the personal space that had existed between them before.

Seeing her raised eyebrow, Killian simply shrugged and raised his eyebrow right back at her. "What? I wanted a better view of your phone."

Not to be outdone, Emma shifted even closer to him and set her phone down on his knee. "There, now I don't have to hold it anymore."

Killian pressed his thigh against Emma's and she in turn leaned a bit into his shoulder. Reaching into her bag she grabbed the corkscrew and the tiny bottle of champagne. Killian reached out and took both from her and proceeded to remove the cork and place it back in the bag at their feet. Handing the bottle back to her, their fingertips brushed and Emma felt it all the way to her toes. Killian's arm found its way behind her neck on the back of the bench and she couldn't help but lean a bit closer.

"Sorry I don't have any glasses. I wasn't expecting any company tonight."

Killian smiled at that. "No need for glasses, love. I'm just happy to be your company."

Before Emma could respond to that, the countdown clock on the livestream hit one minute and the ball started making its decent. She leaned closer to the phone and Killian's arm moved down to wrap around her waist. It all felt completely natural and neither of them questioned the intimacy of the moment. As the countdown went by, they both found themselves looking at each other instead of the phone.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2…

_If you asked either of them later, neither could recall who moved first._

1

Killian's free hand wrapped in Emma's hair as her left hand clasped the lapel of his jacket, their lips meeting and fitting together in a sweet caress. Slow exploration soon turned into something much more heated and Emma soon found herself halfway in Killian's lap as he moved his lips across her cheek to press hot kisses just below her ear. The sound of glass breaking pulled them both out of their lust filled haze, Killian lifting his head from the crook of her neck, but not letting go of her waist. Emma looked down from her precarious position draped across Killian's thigh and noticed the champagne bottle that had tumbled from her hands, now spilling its contents in the grass. Looking back at him, they both erupted in laughter as soon as their eyes locked. Leaning forward to rest her forehead against his, Emma attempted to regain her composure. "Sorry, I guess we won't be toasting the New Year after all."

Killian looked up at her through his thick lashes and gave her waist a gentle squeeze. "Oh, I don't know love. I'd say that we rang in 2015 just fine on our own." He leaned in to brush his lips across hers once more before leaning back to help her off his lap.

Emma settled back on the bench next to Killian and leaned her head into the crook of his shoulder as he held her tightly against his side.

"You know what, Killian? I think this bench might be magical after all."

One year later at the stroke of midnight, Killian Jones asked Emma Swan to marry him right here on their bench. They spilled the champagne again that night, too.


End file.
